Tolkien: The Father of Fantasy

   Tolkien is the father of fantasy. He took myth and legend and superstition and wrapped it allup into a cohesive universe, the first of its kind, one that he worked tirelessly to make as real as possible by utilizing what we now refer to as "world building".

   A professor of English, language and philology, Tolkien's masterful manipulation of words and sound really helped to solidify his works, to make them more real even though they were fantastical. I've got a collection of his extended works including his Appendices and the Silmarillion, and it's really staggering how much of this world the man brought to life with his writing. From locations to factions to minor events to wars and creatures, he seemed keen on getting a little bit of everything in his world. He even introduced the idea of a world-changing event that reshapes continents and dooms particular peoples. He literally created just about every fantasy trope in one way or another, most of which are still derived from today, even sometimes without such creators knowing.

   I feel as though, if there is an afterlife, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien would be more than happy becoming a deity himself and shaping the would he wrote about for so long. He writing evokes the stuff of ancient myths but can come all the way up to a lighthearted fairytale sensibility if he so chose. For instance, much of The Hobbit is not particularly grim, and in fact, even incorporates some elements of humor or at least joviality. The very nature of The Hobbit is much lighter in tone throughout. Yes there's a dragon that murders people and yes there's a minor battle toward the end, but reclamation of Erebor pales in comparison to how dark Lord of the Rings' story is, involving a certain One Ring discovered by Bilbo and all the evil surrounding its power. 

In regards to LotR, a compelling concept arose after reading some of the extended Tolkien works - the fact that Sauron was once merely a lieutenant in Morgoth's army. That alone gives you some insight into how bad a dude Morgoth/Melkor must have been. And that's exactly the sort of stuff I find fascinating, the small details or changing of the guard in stories that really bring the mythos to life. And Tolkien absolutely succeeded in doing that, just look at literally anything with common fantasy elements and you'll see him.

Call of the Weird

   People have forgotten what made Cthulhu such a strange, and indeed terrifying concept. Cthulhu is not scary because he's going to come and destroy a city like Godzilla. He's not a giant monster that will wreck nations with a stomp of his foot. His terror is more subtle, more primordial a concept. The fact that a being can cause madness and deranged behavior simply by existing, by being near, relatively, to other creatures, its thoughts and dreams and nightmares echoing out from it and causing hysteria - that is what makes him terrifying.

   But people have lost sight of this. A lot of people don't understand what a subtlety is anymore in relation to horror. Horror has become a vehicle for instant-gratification, something our current culture seems obsessed with to an alarming degree. This is apparent in how big movies with "jump scares" got around 2003-2013 . Paranormal Activity became a phenomenon, and its tricks were all the same: something bumps or moves or screeches and we're supposed to get scared at that moment. Much of western horror seems to have taken to this idea, and while the jump scare is not in of itself a bad tool, it's something that can be used to incredible effect if it is utilized properly, but overstuffing any media with it becomes exhausting.

   Subtle, weird horror seems to escape creators, or studio heads at least, in favor of what makes money. Though there is hope, somewhat, for the sub-genre. Recently, a game called Bloodborne was released to high acclaim, which explored many, many themes found in things like HP Lovecraft's works or Poe's, revealing an immense primeval, otherworldly force of the mind controlling a plague of beastly creatures within a "dream". A recent film called The Babadook also took a stab at creating a strange fiction around its monster, that seemed come to life simply by the thoughts of those afraid of it, after reading about it in its book. Hopefully, more subtle takes on the sub-genre like these inspire people to remember that strange horror is perhaps some of the best, because its not bound to tropes we've become so accustomed to.